Fish Out of Water
by AliseOdair
Summary: Hunger games AU. Finnick/OC. Adley has to learn what the consequences of winning the games are. She has to learn to accept comfort and help. Deals with some dark/mature content (violence, prostitution, etc.)
1. Chapter 1

**Adleys POV**

We just stand here. Cattle being herded to slaughter houses. That's exactly what this is. I stand in lines of girls and boys, some younger than me and some much older. They all look so nice, as if they were dressing for their own funeral. Well, at least one of us is. This is my third time through this, and my little brother, Coen's first. I walk him through the line, trying to act like I'm not terrified. We walk past the peacekeepers who prick our fingers. Eventually I have to leave Coen and go stand in my own group. I find myself surrounded by fourteen year olds all hoping and praying that their name wouldn't be called. This year, I find myself praying more than last year. This year I can't just think about myself, I have to be here for Coen.

The only reassuring thing in this moment is the sea crashing into the shore. We can all hear it from the town center. It sounds like home, like… Safe. The moment of relief is taken away in an instant when I see three figures approaching. First the two mentors. Max Russel, she won six years ago, and Finnick Odair, he won two years ago. Lastly, Theta. Theta is district fours escort. She comes each year and delivers the same old boring speech about how the games are for the best, and the only way to live peacefully. If living peacefully means sending kids off to kill other kids, then I don't even want to imagine what living in distress would be like.

Theta finishes her speech and the movie has finished. I can feel a collective hush move through the whole district. As if nobody is breathing. Not even those who are safe. They still live in fear that their loved ones name will be drawn.

"Ladies first!" Theta says in her ridiculous Capitol accent. She reaching into the large glass bowl and fishes around for what seems like eternity. Her hand finally connect to a piece of paper and she draws the name of the first victim, excuse me, tribute.

"Adley Parkins"

I go numb. I wait a while, hoping somebody volunteers. Everyone knows four is a career district, maybe not as adamant as One or Two. No one steps forward, and I notice that I've been holding breath. I don't even feel alive as my body makes its way up to the stage. It's like having an out of body experience. Theta shakes my hand and congratulates me. Then draws the boys name, Dars Barren. He looks like he must be at least 16 or 17. Much larger than me. We are allowed quick goodbyes before being loaded onto a train. Away from our home forever.

**Finnick POV**

I try not to think to hard as I go to meet this years tributes. I have to get use to the fact that at least one of them isn't coming back. _This is your job, Finnick._ Max and I walk into the car where the two kids are waiting. When I get in there I realize I shouldn't even be saying kids, the boy looks like he's at least my age, maybe older. He's strong, a career, he's gonna fit right in. The girl, however, intrigues me. She is small. Probably 13 or 14, the same age that I was when I… When I was here.

"Since I'm not Theta, I'm not gonna congratulate you," Max snaps me out of my thoughts, "I wouldn't be celebrating if I were you. I'm not gonna sugar coat it. This is going to be the hardest thing either of you has ever done. And one of you isn't coming back." I can see the girl bite her lip and look at the boy at this remark, tears welling in her eyes. Max sees it too.

"Don't cry. There isn't time for crying. If that sounds harsh, that's because it is, get used to it. I'm not here to be your friend, I'm here to try and get you out. I'm Max and this is Finnick. We'll be your mentors. Training starts now. It can be together or separate, your choice."

"Separate" the two say together.

"Alright," I say, "Then what shall it be? You two can decide who you want to work with." No surprise, the boy, Dars, decided to work with Max, so Adley would be working with me.

We go into a separate car. "Look I know this is scary, but you have to trust that everything Max and I do is in your best interest, don't second guess us, and don't second guess yourself. That will get you killed. I know you're probably filled with questions, so… Go."

Adley just looks at me, not in the way that most girls, and women, look at me, but with eyes full of wonder. "How did you do it?" She asks quietly. I just look at her, surly she saw my games, I wasn't exactly subtle in my tactics.

"Well, I stayed by myself, didn't want to make any connections that I'd have to sever. Then I received a gift, a trident and-"

She cuts me off, "no, how were you able to kill… People?"

I look at her, and I tell her what I tell myself everyday to try to justify what I did, "you do what you have to do in order to survive." She just looks at me, scared, but not in a weak way. She has a fire in her eyes. "Let's cut to it. You and I both know that district four prepares. What did you excel at?"

"Um… I'm okay with knifes."

I pick up a steak knife and hand it to her. "Show me."

"What?"

"Show me." She takes the knife but just looks at me, confused. "In the arena you won't be asked to throw a knife. Right now you have that option." I point to a spot on the wall about 15 feet away from us. It is right between two paintings, the space is probably as big as a persons head. "Throw it there. Don't hit the paintings. Hit right in between." She takes a deep breath and throws the knife. I hear a quick swoop of the metal going past me and a solid thunk as the knife stuck.

Theta comes running in, holding her blue wig to her head, "what is all the commotion- oh!" She turns and sees Adley's knife, stuck into the walk, in between the two paintings. "Those paintings were gifts! I should hope you would act civilized while on your adventure to the Capitol!"

Adley and I laugh. Civilized is not how anyone would describe the Games

**A/N I want to give a huge thanks to finnicko-loves-anniec for reviewing, it's really appreciated! Thank you so much for pointing out some things that I should fix! I'm working on them now! To make this clear, I didn't set this story in either Movie-verse or Book-verse, I'm just pulling ideas from both!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Adley POV**

I can't believe where I am. It's scary how truly amazing the Capitol is. It is large and glamorous and terrifying, all at the same time. The second Dars and I step off of the train people with cameras and questions surround us. It seems that they are more interested in The Finnick Odair, than either of us. We arrive at the Tribute Center and go up to floor 4, where we are staying until The Games. My room is ginormous. District four is better off than a lot of the districts, but compared to the Capitol, we might as we'll be as bad off at district twelve. The room has its own bath and shower, a large window that overlooks a courtyard, and a bed fit for a king. I have to fight off the terrible urge to sink into the cushions and take a nap.

I walk out to the common room, where Max, Dars, and Theta, are all sitting.

"Hello, Adley!" Theta calls out all too cheerfully. "Good to see you, hope you enjoy your room! Max says we are going to discuss your tactics!" She says this as though it's the most interesting thing in the universe. It's not.

"Where's Finnick?" I ask. Max shifts in her chair a bit, and looks to Theta.

"Finnick's off meeting with a potential sponsor! Lovely! He's doing well for you two!"

"Alright," Max brought the attention back to tactics, "let's discuss training. Soon you'll be going into training with the rest of the tributes. Dars, I think you should go all out. Make them scared, and make the careers want to team up with you. Adley, you're small, use that. Go to all the stations, but don't let anyone see what you're good at. I don't even know if you're good at anything, that's Finnicks territory, but if you are possessing some insane capability, hide it. Act weak. Hopefully the careers will let you in if you stick with Dars"

"What if I don't want any allies" I ask her. Max just looks at me like I've asked the stupidest question ever.

"Then good luck." Max rolls her eyes and goes back to talking about strategy. Dars is gonna be this big strong and aggressive guy. In the interview he is gonna be strong, aggressive and protective. In my interview, I am going for scared. I need to act younger than I am, and weaker than I am, play up the sympathy card. Make the audience sad to see a little girl go into the arena.

"Tomorrow you'll meet with your stylists and prepare for the parade!" Theta calls out, "good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

**Finnicks POV**

As the train approaches the Capitol I can feel my stomach sink. I used to be amazed with the beauty and the decadence of the Capitol, now it saddens me. When the train stops I hurry Adley and Dars off of the train and into the tribute center, more for my sake than either of theirs. I ignore the camera flashes, and push my way past the hordes of paparazzi, into the building. Max and I let the kids go explore the new place, we take a step outside.

I take out a pack of cigarettes and light one up, taking a long drag. Max eyes me, and raises an eyebrow, "Don't let them see you with that." I laugh and take another drag.

"We all have our vices, Max. At least I'm not a Morphling." We both laugh. Everybody is messed up after the games. No one is left standing, we all need a crutch of some kind. A lot of victors drink, shoot up Morphling, and every victor has known someone who couldn't take it. It's rare that a victor takes their own life, but it happens.

We just stand their for a while, letting our thoughts carry us away. We are interrupted by Theta, "Finnick!" She practically sings, "You've got mail! From the Capitol!" Max and I just look at each other, we know what's coming. I grab the envelope from Theta and storm into my room.

I rip open the envelope, it's what I thought it was. On the white piece of paper there are 3 numbers:

4:00pm

5:00pm

7:00pm

I check my watch, the first one is in fifteen minutes. No time to shower. Great. I quickly change my clothes and dab some cologne behind my ears. I rake my fingers through my hair and look in the mirror. Rugged. Dashing. Everything the Capitol wants me to be. Perfect. I roll my eyes at myself then walk to the commons. Theta and Max are there, waiting for the kids to come out. Max looks at me question in her eyes. I give her a subtle nod, then I grab my jacket and open the door.

"I'll be back late, don't wait up."

**Adley POV**

I have officially been plucked and groomed to perfection. Currently, I am standing in a tight, gold-colored, dress, it honestly seems more like a long shirt, and Felix, my stylist, is wrapping large amounts of golden netting around my body. When I look in the mirror I don't feel like myself. They've caked on makeup and colors and glued on eyelashes to the point where I can hardly recognize myself.

When he is done Theta walks me and Dars, who is similarly dressed, to the stables where we'd be beginning the Tribute Parade. I see so many people, people dressed in blues and greens and blacks. I blush when I see that the district seven tributes are wearing nothing but shawls made of green vines and leaves. I am so thankful that Felix put me I'm something a bit more modest.

The parade is boring. When the horses return the chariots back to the stables I have to massage my mouth to try and get feeling back into it. We'd been smiling for so long. Theta brought me and Dars back to the Tribute Center, where Max was waiting for us. I guess Finnick is still at meetings.

"Alright guys, good job on the parade. You both were very likeable, that will get you sponsors, so nice going. Right now it's best if you two go and get a good nights sleep, training will start tomorrow morning, and you might as well get a good nights sleep while you still can." Max turns and walks back to her room, leaving Dars and I alone.

"So, are you excited?" Dars asks me. Excited was definitely not the word I would use to describe myself.

"Not exactly." I reply.

"Oh, come one. Give me a hint." _A hint_?

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

"What's your poison? Finnick's still out there working on getting sponsors, he wouldn't do that if you were hopeless. So what is it? Hand to hand? Spears? Knives?" I don't know if I can trust Dars, he's my district partner, but still. I have to remember what Max told us. Only one person can walk out of that arena. I decide to act how I'm supposed to during training and the interview, afraid and weak.

"Look I don't know what he's doing. He knows that I won't be able to survive a day without help, I bet that's why he's getting sponsors." He looks at me skeptically so I force tears to well in my eyes to add to the hopelessness. I can see Dars judging me for crying, which is exactly what I want. He rolls his eyes and goes back to his room.

**A/N Thank you to the people who have been reading this! I want to give a special thanks to the people who have followed and reviewed this story! I do my best to make sure my stories don't have any errors, fact wise or grammar wise, but everyone makes mistakes! So, if you see something missing or incorrect please let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N this ones a little shorter, but it has set ups for late chapters so please please forgive the shortness! There will be more to come soon! Kisses!**

**Adley's POV**

When we get to the training center in the morning it seems as though everybody is already there. I can already weed out the careers, they are the four largest. They are all standing around the knives station choosing their weapons. The boy from one is tall with dark black hair. He is well muscled and looks like he doesn't even need a knife to kill someone. His partner, the girl, is smaller, she looks like she might just be a little bit older than me. But she's got a lot more muscle, she picks up one of the knives and whips it at the target, hitting right outside of the bullseye. I smirk a little, and hey boy from two, tall and blonde, sees.

"What Four? You think you could do better?" He calls over to me. I know I can do better. But I wasn't about to tell him that. I feign ignorance. I look around as if I'm not sure if he's speaking to me. "Yeah! You! Kid."

"No," I mumble my answer to him. The pack of careers laugh and move on to the archery section. The girl from two picks up a bow and picks out a few arrows. She is beautiful. Her hair is long and golden and falls down her back in curls. I watch her as she pulls up the bow, closes one eye, and releases the arrow. It flies through the air quickly and hits the middle of the target perfectly.

"Nice, Satin!" The boy from two calls over to her. She rolls her eyes in response.

"Whatever Taupe. Just hope I don't have this when we split" Satin raises her eyebrow and Tauoe rolls his eyes at her.

"Guys!" The guy from one called over to them, "come look at this." I followed them with my eyes to see what they were looking at. The four of them had surrounded Dars, who was growing spears like his life depended on it, which I guess it kinda does. They close into a circle and I know they are inviting him to join them. Whatever, I don't need allies anyway.

I make my way to the knives and pick one up. I hold it so it looks awkward in my hand, then when I throw it I make my wrist bend a bit so the knife sails off course and only barely hits the edge of the target. I can hear some snickers from behind me. I guess the act is working.

After training all of the tributes went to dinner. We all sat at a long table that was filled with the most delicious looking food I have ever seen. I look around for somewhere to sit. I hadn't been too keen on making friends, so I try to find Dars, he's really the only one I know. Luckily he finds me first.

"Adley! Over here!" I head over to where Dars, Satin, Taupe, and the duo from One are sitting. I approach cautiously, not really sure if I was welcome by the rest if the group. Dars gestures to the rest of the group, "Guys, this is Adley, Adley this is, Taupe, Satin, Teeg, and Ben." We all say somewhat civil hellos and then get to eating.

"So, Adley, are you in?" Ben asked me. I was taken aback. In? As in Careers? At the beginning of this I knew I didn't want allies, but find turn down the Careers I know their first move will be to kill me.

"Sure."

**Finnicks POV**

Max and I wait patiently as the tributes are called into the training center for their individual evaluation. We aren't allowed to watch, so we just stayed in the room on level Four.

"So what do you think is going to happen?" Max asks.

"Dars will get a good score." I told her reassuringly.

"Adley?" She asks.

"I don't know. I told her to act weak. I know you don't believe me but she's mentally capable of this. She's small but she's quick, and smart. She just needs to know how to use that in her favor."

Max gives me a sad smile. "Did you have anything today?" She asks.

"No, you?"

"No, I've got one tonight, though, I should be back in time for scores, but if not, you know, be there for them." We just stand there for a while, breathing in the calm before the storm. I grab a cigarette from my pocket, not really caring what Max thinks, and light it. "Do you have another?" Max asks. I raise my eyebrow at her.

"I thought the great Max disapproved of smoking." I joked, and handed her another.

"It's the games. You can't really disapprove of something during the games." She says as she takes a long drag of her cigarette.

After a while Max has to head out, and I am stuck with the newbies. Dars, Adley, and I sit on the couch and turn on the TV. We wait as Ceasar does his announcements, and then he begins to read off the scores. The girl from one gets a 9, the boy from one gets an 8, the kids from two both get 9s, the kids from three get 6s and 7s. Dars gets a 9, a solid score. Adley gets a 5. It is the lowest score except for the kids from 12, but they hardly count. I look at her and raise an eyebrow. She just smirks at me. Good for her. She played weak. I can only hope right now that she is just playing weak, that she is as good as I see her to be.

I clap my hands together, "Alright, nice job guys. Might as well get some sleep. Interviews are tomorrow. You guys know what to do. Aggressive and innocent. You guys pull this off and you should be getting all the sponsors you could ever need. Max will be here tomorrow morning to help get you guys together, then you'll meet with your stylists." They just kind of look at me. "Go! Sleep!" I yell almost aggravated.

I hang out in the common room until Max gets back.

"Are they asleep?" She asks. I nod. She's a mess. She looks as though she's tried to make herself look a bit more presentable, in case Dars and Adley were awake. She slouches onto the couch and I sit down next to her. She scorches closer to me, curls up and lays her head on my chest. It's nothing special, just one friend comforting another. I lay my hand on her shoulder, and rub gently. I want to tell her everything is going to be okay, but we'd both know I would be lying. It's never going to be okay. So I say what we both know,

"You did what you had to do to stay alive."


End file.
